Dear supporters,

I am excited to share that the NSW government has passed the Conversion Practices Ban Bill 2024, making NSW the 4th Australian state/territory to outlaw LGBTQA+ conversion practices.

I was honoured to spend last night at NSW Parliament House with fellow survivors, politicians and LGBT+ advocates to watch as the bill was debated. 

Please see the below media release from SOGICE Survivors regarding this historic event.

Thank you to all of you and particularly those of you who contacted MP's to advocate for the passing of this legislation!

Chris Csabs

SOGICE Survivors - Media Release

On Thursday night, the New South Wales government passed the Conversion Practices Ban Bill 2024. The new legislation aims to stop conversion practices from continuing to occur in NSW. 
 
“As a survivor who experienced conversion practices over an extended period of time in NSW, I am overwhelmed by a mix of emotions.” said Chris Csabs, co-founder of SOGICE Survivors. “I am thrilled that my home state has finally drawn a line in the sand to say that LGBTQ+ people deserve to live free from these discriminatory and harmful practices. At the same time, I am eager to see the application of the legislation strengthened so that it can be as protective as possible.” 
 
SOGICE Survivors met with the NSW Government in the month leading up to the introduction of the bill to explain the intricacies of conversion practices and how they work. Survivors and advocates are to be commended for the impressive outcome that has been achieved in New South Wales, a state with a considerable history of conversion practices. 
 
The bill draws on some of the best parts of the survivor-led model adopted in Victoria and New Zealand. It has strong definitions, with clear criminal penalties, a process for conversion participants to make or authorise complaints, and some potential for prevention and redress.  
 
The bill clearly distinguishes general homophobia and transphobia from the combination of pseudoscientific and other ideas that labels LGBTQA+ people as broken or disordered, and requiring healing, treatment, or suppression. These ideas, regarded as conversion ideology by advocates and researchers, form the basis and key driver of conversion practices. 
 
“There have been claims that conversion practices no longer occur in NSW, and that they are a matter of religious freedom. However, numerous peak faith bodies, fringe health practitioners, and even parliamentarians have openly declared their adherence to conversion ideology during the debate,” survivor advocate, researcher and SOGICE Survivors co-founder Nathan Despott said. “We view this admission as a spectacular own goal as it confirms beyond doubt that the level of risk is still high in New South Wales.” 
 
SOGICE Survivors advocated for a broader reporting function than that which was ultimately included in the legislations’ Civil Complaints Scheme. The new law’s complaints function will lack the third party reporting and preventive functions of the Conversion Practices Civil Schemes in Victoria and New Zealand. SOGICE Survivors looks forward to working with the NSW Government during implementation and review to ensure the Civil Scheme can reach the gold standard set in those jurisdictions. 
 
“It is incredibly rare for survivors to be able to reach the level of mental health, confidence and clarity of mind required to commence such a complaint process— or even to engage sufficiently with a body that might represent them,” Chris Csabs said. “Extensive Australian and overseas research makes it clear that an external third-party reporting function, such as in the Victorian legislation, is a vital part of preventing harm.” 
 
SOGICE Survivors celebrates long-term advocates from Brave Network, Equality Australia, Ambassadors and Bridge Builders International, as well as the contributions and leadership of Independent Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich and the many survivors who met with the NSW Government during consultations. 
 
The SOGICE Survivor Statement became one of the world’s most prominent and respected conversion survivor-led documents when launched in 2018. It represented the first critical definition of conversion ideology and outlined the primary categories of conversion practices, along with carefully developed recommendations for intervention. 
 
SOGICE Survivors represents the combination of lived experience, expertise, research, and perspectives from long-term survivor support.